The Difficulties of Working with Tinnitus and Hyperacusis
Before I had tinnitus and hyperacusis I worked in office administration. It was a job I loved doing. I spend many months and numerous hours, getting certified to advance myself in the field of human resources. Then one day I became ill, infection set in, and this happened.
At first, we thought it would all clear up after I had a double ear surgery in 2013. However, I was soon diagnosed with severe tinnitus, severe hyperacusis and directional hearing issues. My biggest fear was not hearing.
You see, before I went into surgery, I had severe hearing loss. It was quite a scary experience to go from hearing okay one day to suddenly straining to hear others.
"It was as if the world was whispering and I had to keep saying, I can't hear you".
Some sound I couldn't hear at all like the birds or rain. I could only hear sounds within I'd say 15 feet of me or in the same room.
My first year, I worked off sheer drive and determination not to be beaten by this. I forced myself to work in conditions that proved to make my disorder worse simply because I was a single mother and had to do what was required of me as a parent to provide for my family.
"I was confident I'd get better. I didn't have time to be ill. I was in denial!"
While I thought wearing the earplugs for work allowed me to provide for my family it was also making my condition worse.
"None of my doctors knew any better. How could they, they never heard of hyperacusis either."
The one doctor's office that did help that diagnosed me knew hyperacusis was a sensitivity to everyday sounds and also understood that if I was exposed to sounds that caused me pain it could possibly make me worse, hence the suggestion of ear protection.
I was exposed to sounds, I should not have been around, in a normal working environment. Wearing the earplugs all day caused my condition to get worse. Still very new to what tinnitus and hyperacusis was, I tried everything suggested.
"It wasn't until I really began to struggle with hiding my pain, I came to understand, I needed some sort of accommodation at work and in my life. That's when I realized this wasn't going away and began to accept my diagnosis."
Work restrictions and accommodations are very difficult to put into place at one's job. After all, one is hired to do a job they are capable of doing and the tinnitus, hyperacusis and directional hearing issues clearly interfered with my ability to work at my full potential. It wasn't because I suddenly didn't know how to do my job, it was that the environment I was in, suddenly interfered with my work.
A year later, I was not working and had to find something. That's when I started writing for the Examiner. From there I wrote for Yahoo and Digital Journal. My career path changed due to my inability to work any longer in my current field and I became a digital journalist.
Don't get me wrong it's not that easy for a person to go from one type of job to another unless you have skills to fall back on. Luckily for me, I did. Some people need to train for a whole other career path and still may need restrictions and accommodations put into place. As I, myself still use restrictions and accommodations.
Thousands of people have been diagnosed with tinnitus and hyperacusis; a condition not yet registered in the United States as a disability, but a disorder. A disorder which is disabling, affecting one's way of life and costing many their jobs.
Do you have tinnitus or hyperacusis? How has it changed your life? What difficulties have you faced?
At first, we thought it would all clear up after I had a double ear surgery in 2013. However, I was soon diagnosed with severe tinnitus, severe hyperacusis and directional hearing issues. My biggest fear was not hearing.
You see, before I went into surgery, I had severe hearing loss. It was quite a scary experience to go from hearing okay one day to suddenly straining to hear others.
"It was as if the world was whispering and I had to keep saying, I can't hear you".
Some sound I couldn't hear at all like the birds or rain. I could only hear sounds within I'd say 15 feet of me or in the same room.
My first year, I worked off sheer drive and determination not to be beaten by this. I forced myself to work in conditions that proved to make my disorder worse simply because I was a single mother and had to do what was required of me as a parent to provide for my family.
"I was confident I'd get better. I didn't have time to be ill. I was in denial!"
While I thought wearing the earplugs for work allowed me to provide for my family it was also making my condition worse.
"None of my doctors knew any better. How could they, they never heard of hyperacusis either."
The one doctor's office that did help that diagnosed me knew hyperacusis was a sensitivity to everyday sounds and also understood that if I was exposed to sounds that caused me pain it could possibly make me worse, hence the suggestion of ear protection.
I was exposed to sounds, I should not have been around, in a normal working environment. Wearing the earplugs all day caused my condition to get worse. Still very new to what tinnitus and hyperacusis was, I tried everything suggested.
"It wasn't until I really began to struggle with hiding my pain, I came to understand, I needed some sort of accommodation at work and in my life. That's when I realized this wasn't going away and began to accept my diagnosis."
Work restrictions and accommodations are very difficult to put into place at one's job. After all, one is hired to do a job they are capable of doing and the tinnitus, hyperacusis and directional hearing issues clearly interfered with my ability to work at my full potential. It wasn't because I suddenly didn't know how to do my job, it was that the environment I was in, suddenly interfered with my work.
A year later, I was not working and had to find something. That's when I started writing for the Examiner. From there I wrote for Yahoo and Digital Journal. My career path changed due to my inability to work any longer in my current field and I became a digital journalist.
Don't get me wrong it's not that easy for a person to go from one type of job to another unless you have skills to fall back on. Luckily for me, I did. Some people need to train for a whole other career path and still may need restrictions and accommodations put into place. As I, myself still use restrictions and accommodations.
Thousands of people have been diagnosed with tinnitus and hyperacusis; a condition not yet registered in the United States as a disability, but a disorder. A disorder which is disabling, affecting one's way of life and costing many their jobs.
Do you have tinnitus or hyperacusis? How has it changed your life? What difficulties have you faced?
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